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Cain decent at predictions

Huntsman, Cain scuffle on taxes

Perry reactions during debate

POLITICO 44

Here are POLITICO’s six takeaways from the largely subdued affair at Dartmouth College:

It’s Romney versus Cain.

For now, at any rate.

Herman Cain insists he’s more than the flavor of the week or the month — that remains to be seen in a primary that has already churned through a number of Mitt Romney alternatives (Donald Trump! Sarah Palin! Michele Bachmann! Mitch Daniels! and so forth).

But the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO’s ascension in the polls and his claims of top-tier candidate status were validated by the attention he got during the two-hour debate.

Almost all of the moderators and candidates made some reference to Cain’s “9-9-9 plan.” Granted, most of them were disparaging (Michele Bachmann made a devil reference about inverting the numbers). But in politics, getting attention means you’re relevant.

Cain pushed back hard on smirking comments from some of the rivals — most notably Jon Huntsman — about the numerically named plan. He forcefully injected himself into the conversation at several points.

He was calm but not totally smooth in his first debate as a central figure and showed no mastery of economic issues at a face-off that was framed around the subject he claims as his main issue. Cain praised Alan Greenspan, the former Fed chairman who’s not exactly a hero of the conservative right. And his response to a question about an analysis of his 9-9-9 plan showing it’s not quite what he claims it to be was simply to dismiss the study as “incorrect.”

That’s nice at a debate — and his delivery won him some applause — but it won’t quite cut it in a real campaign. He also declined an opportunity to name a real economic adviser — the closest person he named is not actually an economist — and was unable to defend the sales tax component of his plan.

Cain is now about to face a lot more scrutiny, given his poll standing. Of course, it’s still not clear exactly what he’s campaigning for — Cain has spent little time in Iowa and New Hampshire and has instead been promoting his new book. As a result of his unorthodox campaign schedule, there’s a rather large amount of speculation that he’s campaigning for a Fox News show, a la Mike Huckabee.

Either way, voters aren’t showing signs of losing interest yet.

Rick Perry chose the path of least resistance.

Sometimes, if you have nothing clear to say, it’s best to say nothing at all.

More than anyone else on the stage, Perry needed to deliver a boffo performance at the debate. He did not give one.

However, he didn’t give a particularly bad one either — unlike the past three debates, many of his answers made reasonable sense and they weren’t run-ons. He was subdued, but he didn’t fade the way he did at the other face-offs (although Twitter was alive with questions about whether he’d actually gotten the sleep his campaign was said to be imposing on him).

Perry also got very little by way of questions from the moderators. At one point, he went roughly a half-hour before speaking.

But he did not take advantage of open shots against the front-runner. He had a chance to draw blood from Romney when it came to a question about TARP, over which the former Massachusetts governor was on defense, but Perry never even tried to land a punch.

He talked about energy production repeatedly when asked about jobs, which is fine as a preliminary point. But it doesn’t translate to the bulk of GOP primary voters who are fearful about the availability of work going forward — and he’ll need to have more than that as he rolls out his economic plans.

I was thinking while I was watching, it must be hell being Charlie Rose and having to sit there with so many unintelligent people at one table. I mean, c'mon, who wants a 9% nation sales tax on top of the local sales taxes and state taxes that we pay? 9-9-0 is a joke. If I make a million dollars a year, my 9% is hardly a problem. If I make $30,000 a year, my 9% becomes a burden. And a 9% corporate tax? It's clear who Cain is in love with, isn't it?

The only person who acts, talks, and seems presidential is Mitt Romney. Jon Huntsman might have qualified for those characteristics if he had not put together such a **** team who completely botched his entire effort.

Herman Cain probably has a few pastor issues. Someone get a handycam and find out who has been preaching at him. I'm sure one of these pastors will say something that can be used against Cain when taken out of context.

I was thinking while I was watching, it must be hell being Charlie Rose and having to sit there with so many unintelligent people at one table. I mean, c'mon, who wants a 9% nation sales tax on top of the local sales taxes and state taxes that we pay? 9-9-0 is a joke. If I make a million dollars a year, my 9% is hardly a problem. If I make $30,000 a year, my 9% becomes a burden. And a 9% corporate tax? It's clear who Cain is in love with, isn't it?

Something was missing in this debate. Nobody said anything meaningful about what can be done about the underlying factors of this prolonged economic weakness the USA finds itself in. These people have their memorized points, their one liners and their stock answers. But a decent analysis of the problem and then what to do about it did not appear. The reason may be evident. Nobody wants to admit anything about the depth of the financial crisis, and its origins. That might put them dangerously near to exactly what the OWS protesters are saying all along.

Mormonism is as far from Chiristanity as Christianity is from Judaism and I just don't think religiously conservative Christian republicans are going to vote for a Mormon. Heck, a good deal of them would refuse to vote for a Catholic.

When seniors realize that the 9% sales tax will be used to fund Social Security they will abandon Cain in droves. They will be forced to pay for a retirement that they already paid for with the 15% FICA tax. It would be like paying off your home mortgage and then having the bank tell you to pay again for the rest of your life.

I like the Cain plan. It completely does away with the current Federal Tax Code including all other federal taxes. Cain supports a flat tax but he knows you have to phase in with a 999. Who in the right mind would oppose doing away with the Federal Tax Code? Seriously if you would you are either a tax lawyer, tax planner, accountant, financial planner, politician or lobbist. Of course there is another group who would be new taxpayers and that would be the trillions lost to income from criminal activity. Those criminal do love to shop and they do love the finer things in life.

I know I am not alone in saying I am sick and tired of my tax dollars being used to buy political support. If you don't think it is such a big deal go to www/opensecrets.org and just take a look at the Heavy Hitters and biggest donors. It is appalling to think that our government isn't doing business anymore it is just fund raising using our hard earned money to pay off their donors. Cains plan is the ONLY plan that will take away the tax code game that is constantly being played by politicians and big donors.

The regular folks who actually work,have gotten their hands dirty, pinched pennies and weren't ashamed to start from scratch are fed up with the corruption. This is why Cain is going to surge and Romney, Perry, Huntsman and the others will never convince folks they are going to significantly change a thing. Cain is right about keep the Federal Reserve but with a much, much smaller role.

And, yes, the poor will have a share of ownership in our government. I was dirt poor for a while, even worked in a car wash in Minesota in the Winter. But I worked and paid my taxes. Herman Cain is smart, analytical, has a proven track record of fixing very large corporations and restoring them to profitabliity. He served on the KC bank of the Federal Reserve so he knows how it now works and that it needs to have it's dual role changed to a signle role that of protecting the U.S. currency, Cain came from a humble background but his no excuses parents believed in big dreams and working hard to make them come true. Cain has a great sense of humor and can even carry a tune.........What's not to like? :) Romney is simply going to be yet another player in the regular game that goes on all the time. We simply can't afford another 4 years of this whether Obama or Romney. We need someone with a big broom and isn't afraid to start using it the day he is sworn in. Remove the tax code, remove the EPA and rebuild it with much, much smaller powers and reduce all other regulations passed since Obama has been in power. Good grief, they're making people in WA get permits to plant a home garden after filing all the appropriate Environmental Impact Reports. What more needs to be said? CAIN FOR PRESIDENT! Time for a return to sanity!

Romney looked like a phony and he defended TARP. He sounded like a closet Democrat when he defended RomneyCare. What good does insurance do if you can't find a Doctor. According to the Massachusetts Medical Society, there is a growing doctor shortage in Mass. Increased red tape and regulations from RomneyCare hasn't helped. The individual mandate is wrong. Romney is a loser.

Fixed... oh and by the by... why don't you change your party affiliation to liberal? I mean.. seriously.. it's not like you're a conservative... and you're definitely not fooling anyone. It's not even funny.. at least that crankee yankee guy is funny with his snark and sarcasm.

I was thinking while I was watching, it must be hell being Charlie Rose and having to sit there with so many unintelligent people at one table. I mean, c'mon, who wants a 9% nation sales tax on top of the local sales taxes and state taxes that we pay? 9-9-0 is a joke. If I make a million dollars a year, my 9% is hardly a problem. If I make $30,000 a year, my 9% becomes a burden. And a 9% corporate tax? It's clear who Cain is in love with, isn't it?

Yep.. Cain is in love with the people of the USA.. ALL of them and wants them to all have some skin in the game. Also... it's a shame that you're so narrow minded that you'll obviously ignore how 9-9-9 really works.. but that's ok. We know you're one of the brainwashed folks and we don't need your vote anyway.. so carry on and continue to litter Wall street and crap on cop cars.